One-quarter of Central Saanich staff earn $125,000 or more
Escalating wages are making it more and more impossible for B.C. municipalities such as Central Saanich to control budgets.
Labour costs including municipal police in the municipality of 18,000 residents now add up to more than $18 million in 2026. Those costs are the main budget driver amounting to a staggering 60% of the operating budget.
Nearly one-quarter of the 90 municipal and fire department staff in Central Saanich earned more than $125,000 in 2024, the most recent year available. Salaries however were not available for the municipal staff at the Central Saanich Police Service.
Central Saanich is just an example of a much larger problem of a flawed budgeting process across 161 municipalities in the province.
So when you consider membership in this so-called ‘Sunshine List’ doesn’t include benefits such as pension, medical and dental estimated at 25% of salary, it’s alarming. When you consider the average individual income in B.C. is about $65,000, that’s even more alarming.
A ‘Sunshine List’ is a listing of salary, benefit and severance information, a colloquial name referring to the goal of illuminating government expenditures. To be included on the “Sunshine List’ critics suggest hiking the salary benchmark of $100,000 to $125,000 considering wage escalations in recent years.
If this was done, 20 of 90 employees in Central Saanich earned in excess of $125,000. That includes the CEO, the top paid employee, at $212,000 in 2024.
Council recently approved property tax increases of 7.37 per cent for this year. The budget includes funds for the planned replacement of the district’s municipal hall, fire station, police station and municipal yard.
Figures are sourced from the 2024 Statement of Financial Information (SOFI) and the 2026-30 Draft Financial Plan for Central Saanich. Again, figures exclude the Central Saanich Police Service.
Critics of the budget and Central Saanich council recently registered with Elections BC as an elector organization named Sustain OUR Central Saanich. This indicates their plans to run candidates in the fall election.
READ MORE
Opinion: As a taxpayer and citizen, I’ve given enough, Vancouver Sun, May 7, 2026.
https://vancouversun.com/opinion/pete-mcmartin-as-a-taxpayer-and-citizen-ive-given-enough
2024 Statement of Financial Information (SOFI), Central Saanich.
Click to access 2024%20Statement%20of%20Financial%20Information%20Jun%2023.pdf
Draft Financial Plan 2026-30, Central Saanich, May 2025.
Click to access Draft%202026%20Central%20Saanich%20Financial%20Plan_1.pdf
Central Saanich considering 7.37% property tax increase, Times Colonist, Mar. 3, 2026.
https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/central-saanich-considering-737-property-tax-increase-11952092
Sunshine List, Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_list